1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to security locks and lock systems for exit doors and particularly lock systems for doors having lock bolts and a lock releasing a paddle or a panic bar that moves in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the door.
2. Related Prior Art Patents
U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,690; U.S. Pat. No. 1,006,211; U.S. Pat. No. 1,094,677; U.S. Pat. No. 1,282,320; U.S. Pat. No. 2,862,302; U.S. Pat. No. 2,968,506; U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,151; U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,077; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,905.
3. Background and Prior Art
The prior art includes locking systems specifically for exit doors that open outward usually with a push-out type panic bar that releases or withdraws one or more lock bolts, and other more general locking systems for doors and windows, such as latch mechanisms which are spring loaded and allow the door or window to close and lock automatically and have no provision for emergency exit by merely pushing an otherwise securely locked door.
Within these two locking systems are those which are custom designed to be made at the time the door is made and thus closely conform to structural peculiarities of each particular door, in contrast to a universal type of locking system which comprises components mountable to essentially any door along its locking edge remote from its hinge edge.
This invention is concerned (a) with door locking systems of the first mentioned type which allow a user to simply press the panic bar paddle in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the doors which thereafter automatically withdraws deadbolts from their locked position at different points of the multi-point locking system, and (b) with door locks that can be installed on most typical exit doors that are already made and hung in a door frame.
In typical multipoint exit door lock systems there is either
(a) a single long lock assembly comprising a central lock plus upper and lower locks coupled together by push rods, which is a large and awkward component, or
(b) a central lock near the center of the door and mounted along the locking edge thereto, and separate upper and lower locks mounted along same locking edge of the door above and below the central lock. Thereafter, there are installed drive rods or push rods extending from the central lock to each of the remote upper and lower locks, so that actuation of the central lock to release its lock bolt, will automatically, via the push rods, release the lock bolts of the upper and lower locks at the same time. In order for the three locks to work simultaneously and fluidly and correctly, the upper and lower locks have to be positioned and located with considerable accuracy which includes marking, drilling and finally, bolting or screwing these components onto the door. The present invention substantially prevents errors in measuring, orientation of holes, drilling and/or final installation that could contribute to failure of the door to securely lock or difficulty or inability to open the door in an emergency situation.
Prior art exit door locking systems and components thereof are capable of operating well and reliably; however, for such result they must be installed very accurately which often does not happen at the time of “initial” installation. Faulty installation may be discovered:
(a) during an early inspection before the lock is operated in a real emergency exit situation,
(b) when a person is trying to exit a building in an emergency, or
(c) after a burglar has broken in or successfully defeated the lock or compromised the door. All these situations require further labor, time and expense for correction.
Even before there are operational problems, there is an extremely serious economic problem, namely the excessive time required for many persons to install such lock systems. If the time required is excessive, the profitability of the original sale is compromised, or else, the price must be raised to cover such slow installation. This “installation time” problem exists for skilled professional installers and even more so for non-trained persons who nevertheless perform the installation.
In connection with all the above-described problems, industry records indicate a very large number of initially defective installation and/or excessive times spent on installation. Thus, there are serious security and emergency exit issues regarding doors that are supposed to represent safety and security, and significant economic issues regarding the installations of these door lock systems.
A still further issue is the lock or lock system itself and the components which include relatively heavy, bulky and expensive rigid push rods between and connecting locks.
The present invention addresses all of the above-discussed issues and provides new, unusual and very valuable solutions.